


Draw Stars in Your Eyes (with Loopty Loops)

by STARfruitNinja



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Pre-Relationship, Ranger!Hop, Self-Discovery, Self-Doubt, Tags May Change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-12
Updated: 2020-05-12
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:14:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24138682
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/STARfruitNinja/pseuds/STARfruitNinja
Summary: Hop grabbed his hair in frustration.What the hell was he doing?He had spent all that time soul searching and here he was, doubting his decisions again.
Relationships: Hop & Yuuri | Gloria, Hop/Yuuri | Gloria
Comments: 8
Kudos: 17





	Draw Stars in Your Eyes (with Loopty Loops)

**Author's Note:**

> Me: *looks at the 8 other unfinished fics in my drafts* it’d be a great time to start a new multi-chapter fic : )  
> sorry, there aint any british accents in here.

Hop squinted at the textbook swimming with words.

_‘...while there are still many pokemon to discover in our world, there are currently fourteen known different shapes specifically consisting of: head, head and legs, finned, insectoid, quadruped (four legs), multiwinged, multibodied, multiped, head and base, bipedal tailed, bipedal tailless, two-winged....serpentine.....head...arms.....’_

Hop jolted and straightened when his forehead hit the textbook. Damn, he really couldn’t focus, could he? He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and tried to go through the passage again.

_‘Head, head and legs, finned.....insect...oid....head.....legs’_

The words seemed to swim before Hop’s eyes. He tried again to go through the paragraph again but he still wasn’t absorbing anything. Words and terminology seemed to bounce around the corners of his skull fruitlessly like some computer screensaver.

Hop laid his foggy head on his desk and let his eyes rest.

He had never been great at sitting still as a child. He always bounced off the walls of his home, brimming with energy. He always got scolded by his teachers to use his endless energy for something productive like studying or sports. That’s exactly why he had been so elated to finally participate in the Gym Challenge. No boring classes, no parents to scold him; it was just him, his partner, and the rest of the world to explore. Trying to focus on a textbook just wasn’t his strong suit.

At least when he and Gloria went to school together, classes were a breeze with her. She was always happy to share her notes with him and she had no qualms explaining problems in layman terms for him. Her scores weren’t top of the class or anything like that, but she was a patient teacher that understood his learning habits.

It had been about six months since Gloria had become champion, so Hop was balancing his compulsory education alongside Sonia’s homework and chores. Double the work, now without his best friend. Gloria was busier than ever, hardly coming back to Postwick nowadays, just like Leon before.

Now that Leon was Chairman, he made an effort to alleviate some of the burden Gloria had, but she still served as one of Galar’s representatives on a global level. She had, of course, stepped up to the challenge with ease. It was always kind of disorienting to see his childhood friend, the girl he remembered as a clumsy goofball, on television delivering speeches and appearing all professional. At least with Leon, Hop could hardly remember a time with Leon before he became champion.

While Leon came back to Postwick much more frequently than before, he still had his plate full running the League and managing the upkeep of his brand new Battle Tower. Hop had been meaning to visit and give the challenge a try, but something always came up, whether it be school work or Sonia’s chores.

“Hey.”

Hop didn’t move when what felt like a ceramic mug was placed on his head.

“No sleeping on the job, intern,” Sonia said.

Hop let out a groan.

There was a soft _‘clack’_ , where she placed the mug on the desk before she patted him on the back. “Just a little further and I’ll need you to head out to grab some data for me.”

Sometimes that did mean actually gathering data in the Wild Area or along one of the routes, but it could also mean “go get me a tall Milcery Latte, non-fat, with caramel”.

Hop lifted his head from the desk to stare at the drink Sonia made for him. Tea, a favorite of hers, but it’d unfortunately go to waste. If he drank it, it’d make him too jittery and then he _really_ wouldn’t be able to focus at all.

He tried to redirect his attention back onto the paragraph one more time. But again he found himself reading the same section, the same line over and over. His brain just wouldn’t cooperate today.

He scrubbed his face in exasperation and tried to psych himself up. C’mon, Hop, doing this means helping more Pokemon in the future.

But despite those thoughts, he let out a long sigh and rocked his chair onto its hind legs, staring listlessly at the blank ceiling.

When he started out as Sonia’s assistant, things were fine. He was glad to finally sleep in his own bed after months of roughing it outdoors or sleeping in a hotel. Spending time at home with Leon was great and they connected a lot more in comparison to the brief visits his brother made when he was occupied with his job. Gloria spent a good while at home, preparing to move some things to a flat up in Wydon. They wreaked havoc in expansive fields of Postwick like when they were kids, this time with huge, legendary wolves by their side. His first few days back at school consisted of his starry-eyed classmates congratulating him and asking him all sorts of questions. He went from “the Champion’s Brother” to “Gym Challenge Semi-Finalist” which was different, but it was a welcome change. And when his position began officially, Sonia taught him so much about pokemon biology and behavior that he had never picked up while he was on the road, prompting him to apply some of his new knowledge with his own team. She brought him on field trips and started his apprenticeship under her with various concepts and big ideas, topics he could grasp easily. The first few weeks were good.

But now that Leon and Gloria were busy, school ramped up in workload, and Sonia was now getting into the nitty gritty of certain subjects. Some of the data crunching she wanted him to perform required math that completely flew over his head with equations full of symbols he could hardly parse through.

Maybe this entire professor business was a mistake.

Hop hated himself for even considering the thought.

After his battle against Gloria in the tournament, he buried all the hurt, bitter feelings underneath supporting Gloria and Leon for the final match. Then there was the entire Eternatus situation, followed by the “celebrity” debacle. One event happened after the other and he was left spinning in their wake, without direction or place anymore.

He had decided on becoming a professor on a whim, after taking some interest in Sonia’s work. He didn’t want to seem like he looked down on professor work or anything. He was constantly impressed with Sonia’s breakthroughs and the amount of dedication and sheer brain power required, but that’s exactly what made it so difficult for him. The surface level stuff was fine for him, but digging deep and doing number crunching? That was anything but his forte.

He grabbed his hair in frustration.

What the hell was he doing?

He had spent all that time soul searching and here he was, doubting his decisions again.

He thought he finally had his life figured out, but now he was here, feeling like every moment he spent trying to cram information in his head was a waste of his time. Maybe he was just too thin skinned. Maybe he just jumped on a career path underestimating its difficulty and was now turning tail at the first hurdle like a coward.

There was a sharp rapping against the door that startled Hop, making him lose his balance on his chair and sending him tumbling onto his back.

“Are you okay, Hop!?”

When Hop’s vision finally cleared, he found himself staring up at his best friend’s worried face. “Glo?”

“How many?” she asked, holding up three fingers.

“Gloria, it wasn’t that bad of a fall.”

“Are you sure? What if you suddenly fall into a coma and become a vegetable?”

He clutched at his chest theatrically. “I’ll have to be woken up by true love’s kiss then.”

“I’ll have Zacian lick your face then.”

Hop chuckled and Gloria helped him up to his feet. “What brings you here, oh Great Champion?” He walked over to the lab’s drink station and poured out some tea for Gloria.

She laughed at his dramatic words as she righted his fallen chair. “Just coming by to check in on you. How are you doing?”

They sat beside one another when he handed her the cup. “Oh, I’m fine. I’ve been helping out Sonia with one of her first published papers as a professor.”

Gloria hummed as she sipped her tea. “Are you sure you’re okay?” She frowned. “You look kinda worn out.”

“Well...” Hop scratched the back of his head sheepishly. He couldn’t tell her she happened to catch him in the middle of existential crisis number twenty seven this week. “I’ve just been kinda stressed is all. I have a lot of stuff on my plate, y’know?”

“Am I...bothering you from your work right now?”

“Oh, no, no, no!” Hop assured but he was certain he wasn’t fooling anyone considering how she raised an eyebrow in suspicion. “I’m actually really glad you came by. I’ve kind of been in a slump lately.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

Yes. “Nah, it’s nothing big.”

She pouted. “Okay, I’ll take your word for it.” She swirled the tea in her cup. “I did actually come here with a little request of sorts.”

“Oh, lemme get Sonia for you.”

Just as he stood up, Gloria grabbed his sleeve and yanked him back down and he let out a yelp of alarm. “No, it’s a request for you!”

“For...me?”

“Yeah, I was wondering...” She averted her eyes. It was unlike Gloria to be so nervous. “Do you think you could take a break from work for a bit?”

Hop tilted his head in question. “Like, for five minutes or..?”

“Three days.”

“Three days!?” he exclaimed. “Now?”

“Yes. As soon as you can.”

Well, this was certainly out of the blue. “What are we doing?”

“I want you to come with me to a different region.”

Hop blinked. “What?”

Gloria scooted a bit closer. “All of the transportation’s taken care of. I just need your okay.”

“What about your champion work?”

“Leon will handle it.”

Hop scratched the back of his head in thought. A break from work with Gloria sounded appealing, but Sonia wanted him to finish more soil samples and data arrangement by next week.

He glanced down at his best friend and was pinned by her imploring stare.

“I dunno. I’d have to ask Sonia,” he said. She’d probably deny him in a heartbeat though. She was always remarking about how nice it was to offload the boring work onto her new assistant.

  


“Go for it,” Sonia said, not even glancing up from her computer.

“Yes!” Gloria cheered excitedly.

“Huh!? But didn’t you say you need me to—”

“I can’t turn down a request from the champion herself.” She waved at them without pulling her eyes from her work. “Have fun. Take pictures, let me know if you see anything cool. Bring back souvenirs.”

Gloria bounced up from her chair immediately and grabbed Hop by the wrist. 

“Wait—” Hop cried out.

“Thanks, Sonia. Bye!” Gloria called out without even a glance over her shoulder before pulling Hop out the door.

Gloria had dragged him back home and demanded that he be packed and ready to go in ten minutes while she explained to his mom that she would be kidnapping him for a few days. He tried to hurry, but only five minutes later, Gloria stormed up to his room and started dumping out his drawers for him. Hop barely had enough time to even grab his pokemon team before getting yanked out of his house and onto the back of Gloria’s Charizard.

He shuddered at the cold wind whipping around them. Gloria got special permissions to fly across Galar and she made good use of that privilege, but Hop still had no idea how she wasn’t frozen solid from the cold. He squinted down below and realized that they were passing over Wydon already; past the Wydon station.

“Where are we going!?” he yelled as hard as he could.

“You’ll see!” was her only response.

It was only when they landed that Hop realized where they were: Wydon Airport. He had only been there once before as a toddler when his family went on a trip. But since then, they never had any reason to journey anywhere further than the train got them to.

Instead of going through standard security, Gloria bypassed that completely and Hop found himself getting pushed up the stairs into a private jet, his bags taken by some random attendants.

“What is this?” he asked, vaguely gesturing to everything.

“Champion perks,” she succinctly explained, but that hardly told him anything. 

“Where are we going again?” Everything had been a whirlwind of events. He hardly had the chance to ask until now.

“It’s a surprise,” Gloria replied with a cheeky grin as she buckled herself in.

Hop sighed and settled into his chair. Maybe they were heading to the Kalos region or something. It’d probably be just a couple hours or something.

  


Five hours.

Hop definitely wasn’t prepared for five entire hours for a rush trip.

It wasn’t a terrible journey by any stretch of the imagination. He got to experience the luxuries of Gloria’s private jet. There were no other passengers so he and Gloria could speak as loudly as they wanted to. She got her own snack and drink bar and the entire cabin to stretch out in. She could even release almost all of her team if she wanted to, but she said her pokemon tended to get airsick.

Outside of those perks, he had Gloria, who was always his favorite travel buddy. She recounted tale after tale of her champion adventures, each one bigger and greater than the last. It was nice to hear about them, but a part of him wished he at least had some stories of his own to regale. Professor work had its interesting moments from time to time, but it felt like nothing on Gloria’s stories.

When they finally arrived, Hop reveled in finally being able to stretch outside.

It was pleasantly warm outside and the sky was—wow. Galar was usually overcast most of the time, so Hop didn’t always get to enjoy a sky as bright and clear as this, even with the wingulls circling. As they stepped out from the airport, Hop was greeted with an incredible view of an expansive sea-side city. The port was teeming with Krabby skittering about and Hop could even see a Snorlax sunbathing near one of the buildings up the stairs. Those were wild pokemon on the docks. Wild pokemon, in most regions, were rarely allowed within cities to prevent property damage, only caught pokemon were allowed out and about. But these untamed pokemon peacefully coexisted within the city alongside people. Hop could hardly believe it.

“Welcome to the Fiore Region,” Gloria announced.

**Author's Note:**

> hi I'm here to spread the Ranger!Hop agenda and no one can stop me.  
> I should also clarify that I have only played the first ranger game (I actually hadn't played the games myself ever before this fic. I played the game specifically to research for this fic lol), so I’m generally pulling info from there.


End file.
